New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.